Our Instructors

Instructors

Alicia

Alicia has been practicing yoga for the past 7 years and teaching for two. Deeply Influenced by the teachings of Iyengar, her classes are focused on alignment, breathing and cultivating awareness both on and off the mat. She has studied Hatha Yoga at Integral Yoga, Vinyasa and Asthanga yoga at various studios in NYC and Singapore, and completed Jeff Migdow and Priti Robyn Ross's Prana Yoga Teacher Training in 2006. Her classes bring together all these schools of Yoga, providing a class that will challenge you to move in such a way that you will both build strength and find softness. In her classes, expect to move, to breathe, to let go and to surprise yourself. In addition to yoga studies, Alicia has been studying herbal medicine for the past several years with herbalists in NYC. She strives to empower others by teaching means of attaining optimal health through holistic self care.

Amanda

Amanda is a devoted yoga teacher and practitioner who completed her teacher training at Yoga Vidya Gurukul, an ashram in Nasik, India. Having experienced the transformative benefits of this powerful practice, Amanda is grateful for the opportunity to share it with others. Also an actor, writer, and nationally certified massage therapist, Amanda is inspired by the way all these practices continue to be derived and informed by each other. She completed her BFA in Acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where the intuitive physical work involved in bringing the actor to a state of presence intrigued her to study massage therapy. Studying the mind-body-spirit connection in massage school inspired her to take up a regular yoga practice. The inner reflection through yoga led her to reflective writing about personal experiences; she ultimately completed her MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing at The New School. Amanda is passionate about living a dynamic, empowered life and hopes to inspire her students toward the same. Namaste.

Bethany

"Be" first stepped on a yoga mat to appease her Mother and the local gym's yoga instructor, who insisted that yoga would be a great supplement to her triathlon training. Within a few classes, she realized that yoga was no joke, and had the potential to be a critical component in her training, and life. Even with incorporating the asanas into her regimen, there was still 'something' missing. "Be" continued training intensely (running, biking, swimming, and practicing yoga) until a knee injury resulting from over training caused her to turn inward and find peace in stillness. While recovering, she turned her focus to pranayama, meditation, and yogic philosophy, discovering that true yoga blossoms from within. She is now currently studying Human Wellness, Addiction, and Culture at NYU.

She completed her 200 hour training on the beautiful oceanfront in Todos Santos, Mexico at Yandara Institute. With a practice that is deeply rooted in vinyasa, power yoga, and ashtanga, "Be" delivers a flow that is fierce yet tender, uniting the inner Shakti and Shiva within us all.

Chilaires

Chilaires is from Turkey where she trained in belly and modern dance. She is an experienced instructor, choreographer, and performer in traditional, Egyptian, Turkish, various Arabic, Persian, tribal and fusion styles. She is also a choreographer for Dance of Venus, a dance troupe fusing modern dance and belly dance with various world dances such as Indian, Balinese and Latin dances.

Dan

Dan Shuman was introduced to yoga in 2004, as an antidote to the impact of running. The allure he felt was immediate, and in a short while it became a daily practice. He has studied vinyasa, Ashtanga, and Iyengar styles, and participated in workshops with Chuck Miller, Maty Ezraty, Bobby Clennell, Gabriel Halpern and others. In 2009 he completed Yoga Union’s 200 hour Teacher Training with Alison West. Ms. West’s exacting approach emphasized precise alignment, and is highly steeped in both western anatomy and Yoga philosophy.

A working musician who performs regularly in New York, the U.S. and abroad, Dan is interested in the yoga practice as a way to counter physical and mental habit, as well as help to relieve chronic pain to some extent. He embraces an anatomical and alignment-based approach to asana and is currently a student of Lara Brunn, Brooke Meyers and others.

Dolores

Dolores is an ACSM and Mary Mount College certified Exercise Physiologist. She has practice yoga since the mid 80's and is a certified Integral Hatha practitioner for Basic Hatha1, intermediate Hatha 11, Extra Gentle, Chair Yoga, Pre-Natal and Post-Partum Yoga. Dolores has traveled world wide sharing her yoga practices with world class musicians on tour, retreats, family and community. As a member of the New York Teacher's Yoga Alliance she has given workshops at the Department of Labor, The Board of Education, the Park Slope Food Co-op and numerous Senior Centers. Dolores' personal mission is the hope for everybody to find a system in which to integrate grace, strength, ease, a peaceful mind and a joyous heart! Fitness and excellence is not a luxury buy our essential birthright. We must take care of ourselves first and foremost so we will be available to care and serve others. Dolores studied at the White Cloud studio under Julio Norvath and is currently a certified gyrotonic (R) practitioner.

Jessica

Jessica is a New York native, born and raised in Queens and now living in Flatbush, Brooklyn. She began taking yoga classes about 5 years ago but within the last three she have been practicing every day. Jessica became certified over the summer of 2009 in Vinyasa Power Flow at Yoga to the People, a donation based studio on St. Marks place in Manhattan. Jessica's objective in teaching Yoga is to simply be a guide, a source of direction and inspiration that allows students to find their own inner teacher, in their own practice, staying true to their own bodies, and drawing their attention inward to create an individual experience. Jessica encourages her students to use their imagination in creative ways to deepen their practice from the inside out.

Lasha

Belly Dance, Classical Indian, and Bollywood - Grew up in South Asian where she began her training in the Classical Indian dance form, Odissi, with renowned professors of the Bijou school of New Delhi India, and the Kathmandu Model Dance School. She found herself deeply inspired by the passionate drama and intricate story lines of classical Indian dance and integrates these features into all of her performances, particularly in style of Belly Dance. Lasha began her belly dance career while studying at Brown University where she taught classes and performed for several years, specializing in props including swords, canes and veils. Since then she has taught and performed in cities across the globe including Barcelona, New Delhi, Kathmandu, Boston, Providence, and New York. Currently she performs at various venues in the New York City area with a Brooklyn based company called Bastet. Her dance repertoire consists of Odissi, Belly Dance, Bollywood, Rajasthani folk, Salsa, Swing, and Flamenco.

Megan

Megan Lewicki Quesada began practicing yoga as part of her theater training at New York University. She quickly fell in love with it, and since then has been inspired by many forms of yoga, including Vinyasa and Ashtanga. She completed her teacher training in 2006 with Joe Miller and OM Yoga, where she developed her playful and straight-forward style of teaching. Since then, Megan has studied with many amazing teachers, including Cyndi Lee, David Nichtern and Simon Park, just to name a few. Megan is thrilled to be taking part in the OM 300 Hour teacher training, which she will complete in April 2011!

Megan returned to New York in early 2008 after living in Daejeon, South Korea, where she taught English for a little over a year, as well as studying tae kwon do and traveling throughout Asia, including Japan, Taipei and Hong Kong. Megan currently lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and dog.

Michelle

Michelle Leach has practiced Pilates for the past ten years and became a Certified Pilates Instructor after developing a sincere passion for the practice. She studied under a notable and highly respected instructor in the field, Linda Farrell who trained at the Pilates Studio in NYC under Master teacher Romana Kryanowska.

Michelle’s Pilates Certification allows her to teach mat-based and standing Pilates. Which she customizes to fit each student. Her persistent attention to detail and her pursuit for perfection brings her clients their desired results with the highest level of satisfaction.

Her art is her passion as her patience and knowledge exudes through her teaching as she positively motivates her clients to reap the benefits of Pilates mentally, physically and spiritually.

"It's not about feeling pain, it's about feeling phenomenal"

Nicole

Nicole began her yoga practice in college as a way to connect to patience and strength. She has gained much more than those two characteristics through her continues practice. Nicole has learned how to encourage, compassion, mindfulness, and openness as well as patience and strength in herself that she carries through her own yoga practice on and off the mat. These skills helped her during her time as a NYC public school teacher where she learned how to use her yoga practice to help her understand her students. After Nicole realized how much of an impact yoga had made on her own mind she decided she wanted to share what she had learned with everyone (including children). Nicole went on to obtain her 200 hour yoga certification from Sonic Yoga in Manhattan. She teaches an energetic and creative Vinyasa Flow class that merges the mind, breath, and body to create a refreshing class.

Olga

An avid disciple of world dance, Olga El is inspired by the myriad of cultural traditions to which she has been exposed and a love of storytelling. From a young age, she was particularly enamored of the dances of the Middle East, North and East Africa—better known as belly dance—and chose these dance forms as the foundation of her personal fusion style.

She studied belly dance with notable instructors such as her main teacher and mentor, Oya; Somalian Fulbright Scholar, Arianna Al Tiye; world-renowned Oriental Dance scholar, Morocco; Belly Dance Super Star, Jillina and many others.

In 2008 she spearheaded the experimental belly dance troupe Bastet as well as its charitable sub-division, Belly Dance for Change. She is a member of the Afro-Latin Folkloric Dance Company,Estampas Negras and the Indian Dance Fusion Company, Naach Sensation. She also collaborates with other artists such as the theatre-based, experimental dance company Desert Sin, urban-inspired cabaret act, Billi Shakes, and the vintage East African musical group,The Sounds of Taraab. Olga has performed at Le Poisson Rouge, The Lafayette Grill, the Golden Festival, Arabian Nights, The CMJ Music Festival, The Shrine, Deity, the Katra Lounge, D'jam at Je'Bon, Dances of Vice, The House of Yes, Barbes, The Leopard Lounge, Alwan for the Arts, NYC cruise boats and many other NYC-based events and venues.